History Film / Oculus

* ProperlyParanoid: [[spoiler: Kaylie has a great plan to catch the mirror in the act. Sadly, the mirror can out-think her.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's difficult to tell exactly what influence the mirror actually has on the events of the film, whether it genuinely has reality warping powers and the things we see happen to the main characters actually occur, whether its power is limited to MindScrew and altering the characters' perception, or in fact, if it has any powers at all or is just a regular mirror, and the events of the film is just the characters' own insanity.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's difficult to tell exactly what influence the mirror actually has on the events of the film, whether it genuinely has reality warping powers and the things we see happen to the main characters actually occur, wether its power is limited to MindScrew and altering the characters' perception, or in fact, if it has any powers at all or is just a regular mirror, and the events of the film is just the characters' own insanity.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Its difficult to tell exactly what influence the mirror actually has on the events of the film, whether it genuinely has reality warping powers and the things we see happen to the main characters actually occur, wether its power is limited to MindScrew and altering the characters' perception, or in fact, if it has any powers at all or is just a regular mirror, and the events of the film is just the characters' own insanity.

* HumanoidAbomination: The mirror will sometimes project out spirits which look like its past human victims, but which have GlowingEyesOfDoom, TaintedVeins and other BodyHorror issues.

** Backup, battery powered lanterns to light everything when the main power is shut off.

* DyingAsYourself: Done [[spoiler: as a CruelMercy by the mirror, releasing it's hold on their parents ''just'' as they get killed]].

* DyingAsYourself: Done [[spoiler: as a CruelMercy by the mirror, releasing its hold on their parents ''just'' as they get killed]].

** The Lasser Glass may not be able to alter the camera footage, but it ''can'' apparently alter a person's perception of that footage, as shown when Kaylie looks at the shards of the smashed plant pot through her cell phone, and sees nothing, believing the shards are an illusion [[spoiler: and leading her to possibly fatally stab her fiance. Tim may have looked dead into the monitor, but the mirror didn't let him see Kaylie standing there.]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Both Kaylie and ''possibly'' her fiance are dead, Tim is arrested for their murder, and the mirror is free to strike again.]]

* CassandraTruth: The neighbor Kylie brings sides with the father.

In 2002, the Russell family moves into a new home, buying an antique mirror called the Lasser Glass for some new decor. Parents Marie and Alan begin to behave increasingly oddly, and the family is soon shattered by when young son Tim is accused of killing his father.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: [[spoiler: Kaylie's idea of having a 'gun' to the mirror's head in the form of an uncorruptable physical object would have worked on its own if her whole point was simply destroying the mirror]], but by deciding to stay within the mirror's realm of influence, [[spoiler:FailureIsTheOnlyOption]].
** Just as Tim has coped with the trauma by denying the supernatural elements of their experience, Kaylie seems to [[spoiler: have become obsessed with the mirror to the degree that understanding it becomes even more important than "killing" it.]]

* ArtifactOfDoom
* [[AttackOfTheKillerWhatever Attack of the Killer Mirror]]

* CrazyPrepared

'''''Oculus''''' is a 2013 psychological/supernatural horror film directed by Mike Flanagan (''Film/{{Absentia}}'') and starring Creator/KarenGillan (''Series/DoctorWho'') in their mainstream film debuts.

Has nothing to do with the OculusRift.

!! This film contains examples of:

* AdaptationExpansion: Based on a short film from 2006: Oculus Chapter 3: a Man with a Plan.

* TheUnreveal: We never learn were the mirror came from. Kaylie herself said she couldn't find any information about its origins.

* TheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:In the most horrific way possible. If the thing in the mirror is real, it's going to have a new home soon.]]

* MagicMirror

* MirrorScare: But of course

* UnreliableNarrator: The film introduces the mirror from Kaylie's perspective, which is that its a supernatural RealityWarper. Tim, however, offers a mundane explanations for what happened during his childhood with Kaylie, and uses psychology to explain Kaylie's memories of supernatural events.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: "Dog" never returns. [[spoiler: Although given what Kaylie was trying to use it for, it's possible it got "eaten" and the mirror made them think that Tim let it go.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Its difficult to tell exactly what influence the mirror actually has on the events of the film, wether it genuinely has reality warping powers and the things we see happen to the main characters actually occur, wether its power is limited to MindScrew and altering the characters perception, or in fact, if it has any powers at all or is just a regular mirror, and the events of the film is just the characters' own insanity.

* HumanoidAbomination: The mirror will sometimes project out spirits which look like it's past human victims, but which have GlowingEyesOfDoom, TaintedVeins and other BodyHorror issues.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: Kaylie sets up a kill switch on an anchor to destroy the mirror any time they're ready, noting that because it isn't electrical, the mirror can't mess with it. [[spoiler: Several times it's apparent that the mirror has the power to stop things from hitting it, but it only becomes evident when Tim and Kaylie (as their childhood selves) run at it with hammers, only to find their every blow hitting the wall next to it.]]

* HumanoidAbomination: The mirror will sometimes project out spirits which look human, but have GlowingEyesOfDoom, TaintedVeins and other BodyHorror issues.

* MacGuffinTitle: Oculus which means eye in Latin. The title is never dropped in the movie and the term is never explained.
** It's shown throughout the movie, rather than deliberated upon. In a classic show, don't tell sort of thing, the characters are seeing one thing, then we see another, and then the reality of the situation is shown. In the context of the movie, it's the sense of sight gone mad due to the mirror's influence infecting the characters and the audience.
** Referred to obliquely through the cameras.

'''''Oculus''''' is a 2013 psychological/supernatural horror film directed by Mike Flanagan (''Film/{{Absentia}}'') and starring Creator/KarenGillan (''DoctorWho'') in their mainstream film debuts.

* WhateverHappenedToTheMouse: "Dog" never returns.

* TheAdventureContinues: In the most horrific way possible. [[spoiler:If the thing in the mirror is real, it's going to have a new home soon.]]